The Seahawks' running game tops Ed Willes's list of five things to watch

Seattle Seahawks (10-5-1) at Atlanta Falcons (11-5)

Saturday, 1:3o p.m. PT (CTV, FOX, TSN 1040)

Line: Atlanta by 4 1/2

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH

1. Seahawks running game

Tops this list for the second week in a row. In the wild-card win over Detroit, Thomas Rawls ran for 161 yards as the Seahawks controlled the line of scrimmage and the clock. Similar production this week keeps the ball away from the Falcons’ devastating offence.

2. Pressure on the quarterback

The Seahawks had four sacks and 13 hits on QB Matt Ryan in their win over the Falcons in October. On the season, they were tied for third in the NFL with 42 sacks. They can’t hope to shut down the Falcons’ offence but they can contain it by disrupting Ryan. Falcons were tied for 16th in the NFL with 34 sacks on the season but Vic Beasley led the NFL with 15 1/2 sacks.

Any success that running back Thomas Rawls (161 yards on the ground last week) has for the Seattle Seahawks will go a long way to determining whether they can win in Atlanta on Saturday against the favoured Falcons.Ezra Shaw /
Getty Images Files

3. The big play

The Falcons led the NFL with 17 pass plays over 40 yards and were third with 69 plays over 20 yards. All-pro receiver Julio Jones is the home-run hitter but Mohamed Sanu and Taylor Gabriel — 59 catches, 653 yards; 49 catches, 579 yards respectively — are dangerous second options. Big-chunk plays are in the Falcons’ DNA. It’s up to the Seahawks’ defence to limit them.

4. How much will the Seahawks miss Earl Thomas?

The all-pro safety had a huge game against the Falcons in October but he’s gone for the season and the Seahawks have been susceptible to the long ball in his absence. Last week, they surrendered two puny field goals to the Lions and didn’t let Matthew Stafford inside their own 33. This week, they face the NFL’s top-rated QB in Ryan. Steven Terrell has been OK as Thomas’s replacement, but OK won’t be good enough agains the Falcons.

5. History

This is Ryan’s ninth season with the Falcons. Despite his regular-season success, he’s 1-4 in the playoffs in his career and that win came over the Seahawks four years ago. Over the last five years, the Seahawks are 8-3 in the post-season with Russell Wilson as their quarterback. That means something. We’re about to find out how much.

Coming off an outstanding campaign in this, his ninth season in Atlanta, quarterback Matt Ryan is still 1-4 in his playoff career with the Falcons.Kevin C. Cox /
Getty Images

KEY MATCHUP: Julio Jones versus Richard Sherman. In the regular season meeting between the two teams, Jones had seven catches for 139 yards and a touchdown. The presumption is he lit up Sherman but, according to ESPN, Sherman was covering Jones for 30 of the Falcons’ 46 offensive snaps and limited him to three catches for 40 yards. Typically, the Seahawks don’t isolate Sherman on one receiver, but this is different. As Pete Carroll said: “We’re not going to keep (Jones) from catching the football. We just have to try and keep him from controlling the game.”

INSIDE THE GAME: TE Jimmy Graham had six catches for 89 yards in the regular-season meeting between the two teams and he’s the wild card in the Seahawks’ offence. He hasn’t been a game-breaker but he’s consistently productive … Seahawks finished 25th in rushing in the regular season but ran up 177 yards against the Lions … Falcons’ underrated ground game was fifth in rushing in the regular season and containing Devonta Freeman and dangerous backup Tevin Coleman is crucial for the Seahawks.

The Falcons lost their best cover guy, CB Desmond Trufant, for this season but everyone else is healthy. For Seattle, DT Tony McDaniel returns after missing the wild-card game but the big name is backup RB C.J. Prosise, who’s been out with a fractured scapula after impressing in wins over New England and Philadelphia. Prosise practised with the Seahawks this week and will be a game-time decision.

THE TAKE: Upset special. The question is can the Seahawks’ defence hold Ryan and Co. to under 28 points because they’ll score against the Falcons’ average defence. They have to establish Rawls and a good start is imperative.

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